Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the School Safety topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Committee advances DOE school‑safety staffing request; two specialized positions and funding to be included in committee report
Summary
The committee passed HB 627 after DOE testimony describing two requested positions — a targeted violence prevention and threat assessment program manager and a security technology manager — and said the governor had previously allocated $4 million for nighttime security.
The House Committee on Education voted to advance HB 627 after hearing Department of Education testimony about planned expansions to school safety operations.
Dean Ochida, deputy superintendent with the Department of Education, said the department’s original budget request included two additional positions and funding that the governor partially replaced with a $4,000,000 allocation for nighttime security. The two positions described were a targeted violence prevention and threat assessment program manager and a security technology manager focused on network and security technology needs.
Ochida outlined existing DOE work on vulnerability assessments on a roughly three‑year cycle, collaboration with the Department of Law Enforcement, camera research, and pilot projects such as panic buttons and fire suppression measures. The two new positions and funding would supplement those ongoing efforts.
Why it matters: Committee members sought clarification on how the new positions differ from recurring security contracts and requested details on training and active‑shooter prevention efforts. DOE said it would provide statistics on training rollout.
Next steps: The committee passed HB 627 with HD1, with dollar amounts and FTEs removed from the bill text and folded into the committee report; the bill’s effective date was defected to 07/01/3000.
